Native American Legends
Why the Owl has a spotted coat
A Cherokee Legend
The owl had a girl friend that he loved very much and the time
had come for him to meet her parents. Now owl knew he was not the
best looking creature on this earth and didn't want anyone to see
his face. He thought and thought of a way to hide his face from
her parents because he was afraid they might not let him marry her
if they saw how ugly he really was.
The time came when he was to meet her parents, on this very important
evening he had a plan. As he came into the house he stood in the
shadows, just outside the reach of the fire's light. As the evening
progressed he seemed to relax just a bit but he never came out of
the shadows.
When the evening had ended and owl left for the night, both parents
began to express their favoritism of the owl. They even remarked
what a wonderful husband he would make for the young lady. They
did have one question and that was why did he not come into the
firelight. As the daughter and parents began to talk about the owl
the question seemed to drift from their minds and on to different
subject. In the shadows of the room stood her two, very mischievous,
brothers. They, too, wondered why the owl stood in the shadows and
came up with a plan to find out why.
The next day both boys went to gather wood for the fire without
being told. The mother was very surprised because she usually had
to tell them to do something at least three times before they would
do it. They gather enough wood to burn for three nights, this did
seem strange to the mother and she wondered what they were up to.
She soon forgot her thought as she wondered if the nice owl was
coming to see her daughter tonight.
That night the owl came to court her daughter and the two brothers
were waiting. The owl moved to the shadows as he did the night before
and began to eat his supper. As the mother called for the boys to
get more wood for the fire the boys rushed outside and grabbed two
arm loads of wood and began to throw them into the fire. Now this
wood was not just ordinary oak or hickory, it also had wild sumac
mixed in, so when the sumac began to burn it would pop, crackle,
and throw sparks. This is just what the boys wanted the fire to
do so they could see what the owl was hiding in the shadows.
As the fire began to burn, the sparks flew and the wood crackled.
The owl raised his wing to shield his face and turned his back.
As he did this sparks landed on his back and burned black spots
on his beautiful coat of feathers. That is why today the owl has
a spotted coat.
He did marry the young lady and she was able to teach him that
all creatures are beautiful in Creator's eyes.
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